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Listen to “Change the World” Cover From The Legion OST [EXCLUSIVE]

Some of the most memorable moments in the provocative second season of FX’s Legion are tied to its original soundtrack, and this Friday will see the release of its long-awaited OST, It’s Always Blue: Songs From Legion. The project resulted from intimate collaboration between the show’s composer Jeff Russo and creator Noah Hawley, who provides the lead vocals for such reimagined rock covers as “White Rabbit,” “Burning Down the House,” and “Don’t Come Around Here No More.”

Legion wrapped back in June with a disturbing, table-turning finale that leaves matters in a perplexing state for both heroes and villains, as well as the allegiances that have shifted therein. Accompanying the visual design of Season 2 — which often leveraged a surreal and nightmarish aesthetic that seemed to escalate the unpredictable potential hinted at in the first — was a unique approach to its inclusion of cover songs, setting the mood for climactic showdowns and characters diverting into apparent madness.

Some viewers might not be aware that these songs are entirely put together by Russo and Hawley, with the latter responsible for most of the lead vocals. Certain tracks on It’s Always Blue: Songs From Legion even feature additional members of the cast: a cover of The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes,” which is performed during the intro of the Season 2 finale as David and The Shadow King duel in the desert, features both Dan Stevens and Navid Negahban lending their actual singing voices to the track. Today, Lakeshore Records offers Screen Rant readers an exclusive sneak peak of the upcoming record, with a creative and incomparable cover of Ten Years After’s “I’d Love to Change the World.”

Russo describes the creative proces of working on these tracks, and how they purposefully position into the themes and intentions of the series:

“Creating these covers for Season Two was a unique way to help propel the story. All of them have lyrical significance and we thought it would be a great idea to do them in the style of the show's music.

“...Taking a new direction on these covers was key. Noah would call me with a song idea and I'd think about how to do it. Then I'd make the track, Noah came in and did the vocals, and lastly I added the finishing touches.”

“Change the World” first appeared in the sixth episode of Legion Season 2, a seemingly out-of-the-blue diversion from the main story line, where viewers get to see alternate potential versions of David Haller. While the song plays, we find a grizzled, homeless version of David, wandering the streets with a shopping cart and picking up discarded objects and food. Unfortunately, the scene cuts short, with the song only running a little over a minute, so this is actually the first time the fully unedited selection from the record can be heard in its entirety.

In the meantime, look out for the full digital release of It’s Always Blue: Songs From Legion, coming out on this Friday, August 17.